Top 5 Comebacks in Football History

A game of football is never over until the final whistle has been blown. There have been so many incidents in which the supporters leave the stadium early to beat the traffic, only to miss out on extraordinary performances by some teams. The never-say-die attitude is the most essential part of football.

Here we look at five teams who transformed their never-say-die attitude on the football field into the greatest comebacks in football history.

1. Tottenham Hotspurs vs Manchester City – FA Cup

Spurs and Manchester City locked horns in the fourth round of the FA Cup in 2004, and the match was forced into a replay after the teams were level after the 90 minutes. And the replay fixture provided arguably the best comeback in the FA Cup history.

The match looked all but over as Spurs took a 3-0 lead into the break through Ledley King, Robbie Keane and a Christian Ziege free kick. City were having a bad night as their star striker Nikolas Anelka was injured and had to be replaced in the 27th minute. City’s miserable night continued as central midfielder Joey Barton was shown a second yellow for dissent after the half time whistle had been blown. This all but ended the hopes of a City comeback, but the Manchester side had other ideas.

City started the second half brightly, as they scored their first goal through Sylvain Distin within three minutes of the restart. Paul Bosvelt made it 3-2 in the 62nd minute, as City desperately looked for the equaliser. They found the back of the net for the third time in the 79th minute, as Shaun Wright-Phillips wonderfully chipped the Spurs keeper.

The match looked all set for extra time, as both the teams were level on 3-3. But a 90th minute winner from City’s Jon Macken silenced the whole of White Hart Lane. City completed a remarkable comeback – from 3-0 down and a man down at half time, they came back to win the match 4-3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiUIi9UJpyk

1. Arsenal vs Reading – Capital One Cup

This was one of the most remarkable nights in League Cup history. Arsenal vs Reading in the Round of 16 of the 2012 Capital One Cup – Arsenal were the favourites in the tie, and they, expectedly, came out as winners. But the manner of the victory was far from convincing.

Jason Roberts, a Laurent Koscielny own goal, Mikele Leigertwood and Noel Hunt all were on target for Reading, as Arsenal went 4-0 down inside 35 minutes and were looking all set for an early exit in the League Cup.

But a Theo Walcott chip goal in the final minute of first half injury time revived hopes of an Arsenal comeback. After the restart, the Gunners were just superb. They attacked with confidence, and were rewarded for their resilience, as Giroud scored a wonderful header of a Walcott corner in the 64th minute. Arsenal searched for a third, and found it in the 89th minute, as Lorient Koscielny guided a header into the corner of the Reading goal to make it 4-3.

Still needing a goal to force the match into extra time, Arsenal started to attack with full force. And in the 95th minute, Walcott made it 4-4 with a controversial goal. The ball had clearly crossed the line, but the linesman failed to see that, but the ball was in the end turned in by Carl Jenkinson, who made absolutely sure that Arsenal pulled off an amazing comeback.

Arsenal took the lead in the match for the first time, as Marouane Chamakh found the back of the net. The drama was not over though, as Reading equalised through Pogrebnyak to make it 5-5. The match looked all set for penalties, but Arsenal took the lead in the last minute of extra time through Walcott, and then Chamakh made it 7-5 with a calm and composed finish over the keeper and sealed it once and for all for Arsenal, who entered the quarter-finals of the League Cup for the 10th successive season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNRy5IR3CJU

1. Manchester City vs QPR – Premier League

The 2012 Premier League season’s last match day was full of madness. With both the Manchester teams on 86 points, City led the league on superior goal difference. City just needed a win to lift the premier league trophy for the first time in 44 years and were favourites to do say as they played relegation threatened QPR at home. United travelled to Sunderland for their last match of the season.

City dominated the match, and opened through Pablo Zabaleta in the 39th minute of the match. But the citizens were punished shortly after the break, as an error from Lescott helped Cisse to level things up. Joey Barton was sent-off against his former team for a rash challenge on Carlos Tevez. But despite the numerical advantage, the Etihad stadium was stunned in the 66th minute, as Mackie put QPR ahead.

News from Sunderland suggested that Manchester United had already won their match 1-0. The match entered stoppage time and United had already started celebrating their title victory, as City desperately needed two goals to win the title. And when it all looked over for the sky blue outfit, City produced one of the most stunning comebacks in the premier league history.

First City equalized through substitute Edin Dzeko in the 92nd minute of the match to give City that vital hope of a revival. And just two minutes later, City’s star forward Sergio Aguero scored his 23rd league goal, and arguably the most important one to win the league for City, and denying United their 20th league title.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa42jvrCCdA

1. Manchester United vs Bayern Munich – Champions League

Manchester United’s comeback against Bayern Munich in the 1999 final is one of the best in the history of the Champions League. The title came on the day late Sir Matt Busby, who was the only Reds’ manager to win the European Cup 31 years ago, would have celebrated his 90th birthday.

Bayern took the lead through Mario Basler’s 25-yard wonder-strike after five minutes from the start. Throughout the match, United threatened to equalize, but they failed to make any clear chances to score. On the other hand, Bayern came close to double their lead on several occasions, twice hitting the woodwork. Bayern defended desperately as match progressed towards the 90 minute mark. It all looked over for United as three minutes of stoppage time were added. But these three minutes turned out to be one of the craziest ones in football history.

Substitute Teddy Sheringham equalized in the 91st minute of the game, after United had won a corner. It looked like United had been saved by that goal, and the match was heading towards extra time with the English fans relieved. But after two minutes, i.e. the last minute of added time, United struck again through another corner. Sheringham headed the ball straight into another substitute Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who guided the ball into the roof of the net.

From 1-0 down at 90, United struck twice in stoppage time to win their second ever Champions League title. Bayern had only themselves to blame as they had one hand on the trophy after leading in the final for 85 minutes. Sir Alex Ferguson, after the thrilling victory, said, “This is the greatest moment of my life.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-XsRJU-LGo

1. Liverpool vs AC Milan – Champions League

Liverpool produced a wonderful comeback against AC Milan at the grandest stage of all – the Uefa Champions League Final in 2005. AC Milan were the favourites to win the title, as Liverpool were the surprise finalists for many people.

Milan started the match with a bang as Paolo Maldini scored the fastest goal in a Champions League final, in just 52 seconds into the match. Milan struck two more goals through Hernan Crespo before half time to take a comfortable 3-0 lead at the break. Many signed Liverpool off after their dismal first half performance, but the Liverpool fans still believed in their team. And their belief did not go in vain.

Liverpool responded after the break, as captain Steven Gerrard got one back with a superb header in the 54th minute. After just two minutes, substitute Vladimir Smicer struck a long range shot into the bottom left corner to make it 3-2. Xabi Alonso made it 3-3 with a penalty rebound at the hour mark. Liverpool came back from 3-0 down to draw level on 3-3 inside 15 minutes of the second half.

The match went into extra time and then into penalties. Liverpool came out as eventual 3-2 winners in the shoot-out and won their fifth Champions League title, and their first in 21 years. The hero of the night for Liverpool was their goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek, who made some brilliant saves throughout the match, and also saved two important penalties in the shoot-out which ultimately proved crucial for Liverpool’s successful comeback.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFgvSvBD-3Q